JEAN AUDUBON AND HIS FAMILY 33 



will be seen presently, this diplomat again exerted him- 

 self in Captain Audubon's behalf. 



It is interesting to find that on this occasion Jean 

 Audubon was fighting not only for his life, but for his 

 property. His vessel, Le Comte d'Artois, was very 

 heavily armed. Though of only 250 tons, she carried 

 no less than ten cannon, four of which were mounted 

 on gun carriages, and ten bronze pivot guns, which 

 might imply that she was originally designed as a priva- 

 teer. The ship was not destroyed when her captain was 

 made prisoner, but was taken by the English to Ports- 

 mouth, New Hampshire (?), and burned there before 

 December 15 of the following year. 8 Before starting on 

 this disastrous voyage Captain Audubon had sold the 

 vessel and his interest in her cargo to the Messrs. La- 

 croix, Formon de Boisclair and Jacques, with whom 

 later he had extensive dealings in slaves ; but he was not 

 paid, and though an indemnity seems to have come from 

 the British Government, he was never able to obtain a 

 satisfactory settlement of the Formon claim. 5 



9 



8 The destruction of Le Comte d'Artois is noticed in a document 

 bearing date of January 19, 1782; the name of the town only is given, 

 but it is probable that it refers to the United States. 



9 For repeated reference to this unsettled claim, see his letter of 

 1805 to Francis Dacosta (Chapter VIII), where the name is written 

 "Formont." 



The bill of sale of Le Comte d'Artois was drawn on February 21, 

 1779, when Jean Audubon appeared "before the notaries of the king in 

 the seneschal's court of Saint Louis," and was described as "resident at 

 Les Cayes, opposite the Isle a Vaches." The document, which in my 

 copy is incomplete, reads in part as follows: 



"The present M. Jean Audubon, captain-commander of the ship Le 

 Comte d'Artois, of Nantes, armed for war and now laden with mer- 

 chandise, anchored in this roadstead of Les Cayes, dispatched, and at 

 the point of departure for France; armed by the Messrs. Coirond Brothers, 

 merchants at the said city of Nantes, acting in his own name as one 

 interested in the armament and cargo of the vessel, as well as in his 

 capacity as captain; [he] acting as much also for the said furnishers of 

 arms as for the others interested in the said armaments, and the mer- 

 chandise, which will be hereafter mentioned, in consideration of the rights 

 of each, promises to have these presents accepted and approved in due 



